Sun Rai

I play piano and sing. I've played piano since I was four, my mum taught me to play. My dad played in bands, so he was more of a rock n roll kind of guy. I also used to sing drumbeats and annoy the shit out of my two brothers. Later on, I recorded some songs at home, and decided to sing the vocals on them - primarily because nobody else was around to perform them and I was keen to get something started!

I cut my hair this year (wow, big deal!!!) But it was a big deal for me, it was like I was showing my true face for the first time. Also, I figure, you can't see me singing from the side while I'm sitting at the piano with long hair!

I wanted to go to America to try all of this stuff out. They say that change is as good as a holiday, so I thought, "Why not have a change and have a holiday at the same time?!" But I knew it wasn't going to be a holiday. I knew it would be hard work, and it took a while to muster the courage to get myself over here, but I'm here now.

Someone asked me the other day, "What is it that you want to do?" I thought about it for a few seconds, and the best way for me to describe it was something like this: I just thought about how I'd sort of see myself on a stage, performing...

It was like:

"You know that moment when you're at a huge awards ceremony or watching one on TV, and there's all this glitz and glam, and flashes of light and it's all hype and craziness and then... some artist comes on stage, and just plays a song, either on their own or simply with one accompanist, and performs a heartstopping song that brings the whole f*ckin house down? That's kind of what I'd love to be able to do. That would be my ultimate goal, that would make me the happiest person alive."

There's another element that I love about music: I also like to groove. I'm not a trained dancer but dancing is where you get to express a certain energy where, instead of moving your fingers on the piano, you get to move your whole body. I used to do it only after a few beers, haha - but it's something I'd be into exploring more. Then there's the improvising element. I love going to gigs where it's a non-stop party, and there's that electric vibe in the room. The rhythm of jazz does that sometimes, when it's on. Prince did that once when I saw him at The Forum here in L.A. Donny Hathaway did it on "You Got A Friend" on his live album, 'cuz everyone was singing along, they were just spreading the love! Great comedians and actors do it too.

Goldspot

Goldspot have released a new album, Aerogramme on August 20th. Produced by singer/songwriter Siddhartha Khosla and Beach Boys’ engineer Jeff Peters (some of the album’s tracks were recorded in the home studio of one of the Beach Boys) and mixed by Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, Weezer), Aerogramme marks the outfit’s third full-length release.

Khosla released his first album in 2007 under said moniker to an enthusiastic audience both stateside and abroad.

The record, Tally Of The Yes Men, was almost instantly championed by a handful of tastemakers with no ulterior motives aside from introducing its palpable goodness to a waiting world-- Nic Harcourt, (then at KCRW, who continue to support the band), for one, among others. Before we knew it, equally kind words followed suit in such publications as Q, The Sunday Times (UK), The Guardian (also, UK, where an alternate version of the record was made which included A.R. Rahman’s Bollywood Orchestra), NPR (here) and much more. In fact, the album’s single “It’s Getting Old,” was the second most downloaded iTunes single of the week ever, the album made several Top 10 of 2007 lists and Goldspot went on to share stages with the likes of Arcade Fire, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab For Cutie, and Bjork.

The second recording, And The Elephant Is Dancing, garnered similar acclaim, the LOS ANGELES TIMES offering, “A classic and timeless gem. It’s as if George Harrison never left India,” and NPR’s TELL ME MOREdescribing "An inventive sound and independent vision." The album also commanded a sizable portfolio of TV and film placements, including love from the hit U.S television series, How I Met Your Mother, NBC series,Perfect Couples, and a trailer for the 2011 film The Dilemma with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Connelly, among other spots.

Aerogramme marks a turning point in the Goldspot canon, indeed offering more of Khosla’s inspired and embraceable songwriting, but a more personal narrative emerges as the author looks back on his own family history and his parents’ immigrant experience. In essence, this record has been brewing in Khosla’s mind since he was a child.

Although 4 songs into Aerogramme’s track listing, “New Haven Green” is a suitable springboard for Khosla’s revisitation- “Tell me the story again,” is the refrain and it’s about his family’s arrival onto these shores- his parents, poor and displaced, hoping, working towards a new and full life in America. But, prosperity would come slowly as the difficulty of making a living would force the young couple to send their toddler son back to India where he would spend the remainder of his early childhood while his parents created a proper path for him.

“Abyss,” spotlighted right now on ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY’S MUSIC MIX BLOG (Check out the link in the header) sets Aerogramme’s tone with a hypnotic ramble and beautiful melody, beckoning us, “Back to the start,” while “The Border Line,” whose iTunes link is featured in the same EW post, captures the album’s essence evoking that feeling we all share, immigrants and natives alike, of being somewhere new, out of our element, and not really knowing where or how we fit in: “The tide brought me here/I called it home/a place I’ve never known/It seems I’m caught between the moving plates beneath my feet…”

“If the Hudson Overflows,” recently featured on the hit CBS show How I Met Your Mother as part of the band’s effort to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Sandy, (“Rewind” was featured in an earlier season of the same show), brings Khosla’s current life in New York City into focus.

The narrative comes across eloquently, which is as much a testimony to Khosla’s musical history as it is to his inspiration for this album. As informed by old Bollywood singers as he was by the likes of The Smiths, The Cure, The Beatles and Paul Simon, and other Western influences, his songs now embody a cross-cultural appeal. Goldspot’s instrumentation from traditional Indian instruments like the harmonium, to the Greek bouzouki, to 80's omnichord synthesizers – is engagingly unique, while the guitar, bass, drums, et al center the music’s power.

Aerogramme is Khosla reliving those memories of being apart from his parents. His longings and their struggles have been transformed through music into poignant songs of love, loss, and redemption.

resident DJ Jason Eldredge (KCRW/East Village Radio)

With individual taste and a passion for musical risks, Jason Eldredge appeals to the avid music lover as well as the casual fan seeking a soundtrack to their life’s adventures.

Jason’s musical education started at an early age. “It was obvious to everyone around me that I had a real fondness for music, so babysitters and older kids were always feeding me the cornerstone albums of that time."

“Later on in school, my friends would ask me to create mix tapes for their parties. I never really thought that much about it, but other people seemed to realize that I had a knack for it.”

Jason became a “public radio junkie” while living in Chicago listening to WBEZ. He was involved in the local theater scene and finally moved to the West Coast to pursue his acting career. He discovered KCRW and became a volunteer almost immediately. “I showed up to my volunteer interview in a tie and brought along a portfolio. I knew what I wanted and was determined to be involved with the station.”

Jason's desire for accessibility in introducing the newest jam or resurfacing the occasionally forgotten gem brings a mixture of sounds that is consistently varied and original. “I always take chances. Sometimes the things I think people are going to hate end up being what people love the most. That's one of the best parts of my show.”

Jason was previously named by Billboard Magazine as one of the ‘Top 30 Under Thirty’ in the music Industry for his music supervision work in film and television. His credits include: HBO’s Six Feet Under (music coordinator), The Closer for TNT, and Free Radio for VH-1. He has been featured in other print and online publications such as Monocle Magazine, Hamptons Magazine, LA Weekly, and Mashable.

He has deejayed live for the MTV Video Music Awards, Oliver Peoples, Ace Hotels, Soho House, Santos Party House, Flavorpill, The Standard Hotels, The Bowery Hotel, Armani, and The House of Blues.

W Hotels and The Patina Group run exclusive mixes produced by Jason in a variety of their establishments worldwide.

In addition to his work in music, Jason has acted in a variety of commercials, films, and stage productions. He studied acting with the Atlantic Theater Company in New York and completed the BFA acting program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has also studied photography at UCLA and recently completed a major candidacy in Art History at Columbia University.

Guest DJ: Chris Douridas (KCRW)

"I plan an interview like a trip," says longtime music curator, radio host, and two-time Grammy nominee Chris Douridas. "I know I'm going to get from here to there, but the side trips and roadside attractions are always the most interesting." Chris' penchant for crossing borders has led him to audiences around the world. Throughout most of the 90's, Chris held the music director position at KCRW. As host of KCRW's popular daily new music program Morning Becomes Eclectic (1990-1998), he was the first to play demos from then-unsigned artists Beck, Gillian Welch and eels, among many others.

While Chris was still in his KCRW role, Geffen Records enlisted him to identify and recruit new artists as an A&R consultant, bringing to the label the bands Remy Zero and That Dog. Two years later, he became an A&R executive at DreamWorks Records where he brought in the eels and Propellerheads, among others.

While at DreamWorks and KCRW, he hosted the debut season of Sessions at West 54th, a weekly PBS music performance and interview program, which bowed in the summer of 1997, and is still in syndication. The show featured interview segments filmed by D.A. Pennebaker, and extended sets from Beck, Fiona Apple, Ben Folds, Sonic Youth, and Zap Mama, along with the television performance debuts of Belle and Sebastian and Jane Siberry, among many others.

Chris is probably best known in film circles as a music supervisor and consultant for major motion pictures and television series, having put together music for Northern Exposure, the Austin Powers series, One Eight Seven, As Good as It Gets, Heat, Grosse Point Blank, Grace of My Heart, American Beauty (GRAMMY nominee for Best Soundtrack), One Hour Photo, Down With Love, The Girl Next Door, The Chumscrubber, Rumor Has It, the record-setting Shrek 2 (GRAMMY nominee for Best Soundtrack) and Bobby, the Robert Kennedy tribute from director Emilio Estevez.

As the new millenium began, Chris set new standards in the online arena as the former VP at AOL Music where he created, produced and hosted the popular Sessions@AOL interview and performance program. For Sessions, Chris interviewed Paul McCartney, U2, Moby, Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, Nelly, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and Avril Lavigne, among hundreds of others.

Also a creative programming consultant for Steve Jobs and Apple's iTunes Music Store, Douridas created and produced the inaugural two years of the live performance and interview series, iTunes Originals, featuring Paul Simon, Jack Johnson, Alanis Morissette, Sting, Willie Nelson, Bjork, PJ Harvey, and others. Additionally, Douridas created and curated the launch of iTunes Essentials, an ongoing series of downloadable music playlists for the iPod culture.

In his voice-over work, Chris was recently heard in the Nissan Shift TV commercial campaign.

He continues his dedication to discovering and nurturing unsigned and forward-leaning artists through his global radio program, heard on KCRW-FM and KCRW.com.

& Matt Goldman (MFG)

MFG Productions is an event production & promotion boutique based in downtown Los Angeles. We have produced influential live music and DJ events since 2006, having averaged over 200 shows per year ranging from 100 to 10,000 people in attendance. Our partners include music festivals, international hotel chains, relevant magazines, influential radio stations, leading beverage brands, and every facet of the apparel industry. We are consistently approached for our understanding of current and future trends in art, fashion, design and, most importantly, music.

“Matt Goldman is an LA nightlife titan, responsible for Thursday’s Dance Right at La Cita and Monday’s School Night at Bardot, as well as the bi-coastal Swimming with Sharks summer pool parties at the NY and LA Standard Hotels. And then there’s the match-made-in-heaven team-ups with Mad Decent and Scion, the one-off after-parties for poised-to-be-huge bands like Foster the People, the secret shows with M.I.A. and Spoon... should we keep going? Because [MFG] is...”
- Excerpted from Paper Magazine Nightlife Issue